


The Origin of the Inky Gems (is a complicated one)

by Control_Room, Random_ag



Series: We are the Inky Gems [1]
Category: Bendy and the Ink Machine
Genre: AU, Attempted Murder, Bendy and the Gem Machine, Body horror (?), First of a series, Gen, Kidnapping, Seduction, Wally needs to STOP, also hes a Spectrolite Whisperer, bad Memory, kim is not having any of this, not really maybe just a little, nothing too graphic just bits of descriptions, some violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-25
Updated: 2018-09-27
Packaged: 2019-06-16 07:19:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,660
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15431874
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Control_Room/pseuds/Control_Room, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Random_ag/pseuds/Random_ag
Summary: WeAre the Inky GemsWe’ll always run away from our problems because we’re wanted in this entire universe.(rated T for language and implications)





	1. Eska, Spectrolite, Spy turned Rogue

Spectrolites are spies.

They, in truth, are the best spies to roam the galaxy.

One would never believe that, with their bright blue and orange features. One would argue that it would be impossible for them to hide and not be spotted.

But it’s not the colors that matter. It’s the structure. Designed to be thin, their gem almost flat, they can slither in every crack and cranny with ease. And within, a huge amount of storage space to hold everything from weapons and tools to information and databases.

They poof objectives with a smooth movement, and vanish, leaving no trace whatsoever.

They steal files and encrypt memory banks without a mark of their presence.

They keep everything under control, especially when tumors threaten to grow; inside a colony, a kindergarten, a war ship. They get rid of the defective gems, and rebel off-colors, and they suffocate the fires when they are but puny embers.

They are constantly controlled, always monitored. Every motion is logged.

But it is extraordinarily hard to do so, when others barely manage to see them.

Despite this, it must be done. Otherwise, someone could get hurt.

Someone would.

And it would be someone at the top of the totem pole.

* * *

 

Joey only noticed anything off when he felt the back of his head being hit with force, as if something had thrown itself onto him (or into him, but his stomach wrenched to entertain the thought).

Before he could check for the cause of his pain and annoyance, he felt his body shift uncomfortably, free from his control. His insides seemed to burn and crumble in on themselves, forcing him to his knees, and he could recognize another presence forcing itself into his brain until it split into two identical, antagonizing halves.

An arm sprouted from his stomach, another from his back. Under his multiplying eyes he recognized a round, colorful gem on the new palm facing him. It glowed softly, and from it emerged something sharp, like a knife, but more slim and deft, pointing towards his head.

He grabbed the wrist with both hands in an attempt to stop its race against the point just above his nose; his head was pulled back by the appendix behind him, fingers tugging his hair to make him loosen his grip.

He tried to call for help, but the other entity wouldn’t let him: they screamed in unison, terribly, meaninglessy.

Joey mindlessly attempted then to run, trying to get away from his same bodied aggressor. His now four legs scrambled all over the place, preventing him from taking a single step in any direction. His giant, mangled body fell on itself with a cacophony of clamors, shouting gibberish in both terror and rage, and a strange mixture of both from three, parallel voices. For a time that felt endless, his vision shut down, the pain cused by the two parties’ attempt to control each other increasing to almost unsustainable levels.

He didn’t know how they unfused; he only felt a strong zap to his side and his eyes snapping open, his breath short and fast as he laid on the floor, ink pouring from his gem, healing his wounds, revitalizing him.

Onixes were rushing towards him, terribly concerned. They completely ignored the smaller figure crouching, only a little groggily, behind them.

Joey didn’t.

He launched himself onto the gem with an enraged scream, fingers morphing to claws, ready to shatter the deviant right there and then.

But the spectrolite, while still stumbling, was much, much faster. He groveled into the nearest crack, disappearing immediately without a sound.

He watched from his hiding spot the black diamond shout, ordering enraged to his guards to find that puny, insolent piece of bicolored rock and bring it to him, as soon as they could. His hands clenched and uncleched as he paced, almost exercising for the moment he would have broken it to smithereens.

Eska stared at Joey’s inky, pitch dark figure yelling at the top of his lungs, the diamond's voice more shrill and agitated with every word, for a long minute.

In utter silence he scuttled away from the crime scene.

He reached a ship and entered, unseen.

Through every little conduct, he arrived at the control room.

He pushed his way out, lazily taking in account the other seven, already present gems; two poofed, two tied up (one of which seemed in a trance, the other watching him intently with horror), the remaining three looking a little more than lost, yelling something about needing somewhere to go and some plan to continue being.

The spectrolite shook his head distastefully, ignoring them, and he redirected his attention to the control pad.

He would have **not** taken them with him.

Oh well.

It seemed he had to.

Not that it _mattered_.

Spectrolites are spies.

Eska was about to become the first to go missing.


	2. Wally Franks, Fluorite, Seducer Extraordinaire

Wally grinned as he crept on board. Willy, despite not being ok with such a plan, consented to distract the guards of the Tsavorite’s ship. Willy knocked over a drill robot which sent it haywire, and the onyx and amethyst guards and were struggling to prevent it from getting to the other fluorites. And that gave Wally ample time to sneak aboard. He spotted Willy watching him with concern. He grinned widely, and his twin gem managed a weak smile in return.

“THOMAS CONNOR YOU BETTER GET YOUR GYPSUM ARSE OUT HERE!” an amazonite yelled. Wally repressed a shudder, as amazonites were known for their aggression, and this one seemed no different. But a gypsum… Wally grinned. That would work. Wally peeked out a window to see the golden haired gem trying to fix the robot. The gem looked like an excellent choice. “ARE YA EVEN TRYIN’ TA FIX IT?!”

Wally didn’t hear what he replied, as he returned to focus on the task at hand. He tiptoed by the control room, seeing the tsavorite in a conference call with other prominent gems. The Irish accented gem seemed to be getting frustrated, and Wally hurried away, not wanting to get the rage of the powerful superior. He finally saw a room, the one after the one labeled K.G., Tiger’s Eye, N.O’. Personal Assistant, with a door marked T.C., Gypsum, Mechanics and Engineering. Bingo.

He broke the panel like Willy told him to, cutting the yellow wire and resealing it, covering it back up as he walked into the room. There wasn’t much in it, as gypsums weren’t given as many things as higher ranking gems received. It was still better than Wally and Willy’s relatively bare room, which only had a single bed. Willy refused to sleep on it, so Wally did, despite feeling a little guilty. He shook off the thoughts, cursing himself for wasting time. He checked around to make sure that this gem would be interested, and he found a magazine called ‘The Off-Color Gazette’, which was hidden under the mattress, and for good reason. It was banned. Wally grinned as he saw the issue’s cover. Pride Stones, the essential guide for any queer gem. This gem seemed more and more perfect by the second. The door to the ship opened. Wally waited, shoving the magazine under the mattress again. He laid back on it, relaxing. This bed was so much... _nicer_ than his. He let out a breath. The door slid open, and the exhausted and drained mechanic entered and immediately went to the small sink-and-mirror compound, not noticing the gem on his bed. Wally grinned, closing his eyes slightly as he examined the gypsum. Then saw his gem was on his left shoulder, making him grin all the more. Now the plan can go even better! He extended a hand, resting it on Thomas’ right shoulder. The gem stiffened, hand reaching for his weapon.

“Ah ah, let’s not get violent,” Wally crooned, using his other hand to lower Thomas’ arm, turning the engineer to face him, tugging him toward the fluorite. He seemed wary. Ego boost, Wally decided. He walked his fingers up Thomas’ chest. He stiffened all the more. “You were very brave out there, Mr. Connor. None of the onyxes or amethysts could even get close to that machine.”

“I-I could have you shattered for coming in here,” he stuttered as Wally got up close, mere inches away. Wally grinned lazily. “I can!”

“I’m not denying that,” Wally muttered cooly, gently pushing him onto his armchair, awestruck by his golden blush. He refocused himself. He pulled out his whip, strapping Thomas down. They both knew there was enough room for him to escape. He made no move to. Wally sat on his lap, leaning close to his ear. “I just know you won’t.”

“Um… ah…” Thomas replied, gold coating his face and neck. Wally chuckled, extending his leg to hit the lock on the door, and his arm to turn off the window. Thomas cleared his throat, almost glowing with his flush. “You have the best command over your shapeshift powers than I’ve ever seen.”

“Want to see more?” Wally smirked, snaking his arms around Thomas’, tying him to the chair even more. He used his legs to tug him down, so his chest was extended. Wally’s hands worked in tandem to undo the higher ranked gem’s shirt. He sucked in a breath as the fluorite’s hands ghosted over his body. He shivered as the other leaned in to whisper again. “I can give ya more.”

There are two things that need to be remembered when gems are intimate. One, they are not human, and two, their bodies are illusions, but with mass. Therefore, their gemstones are what matter. So it was no surprise how sharply Thomas gasped when Wally traced the cut of his gem. Wally watched with fascination as he gasped in air he didn’t need, but was using to steady himself. Wally gently covered his mouth. He slowly moved to touch their gems together… and even he never could have guessed how sublime the sensation was. Heat danced between them, Wally’s hand sliding down from his mouth to intertwine their fingers. They groaned in unison, both flushed.

“Hell,” Thomas moaned, arching into the touch of the fluorite’s gem. “I don’t even know your name, mmh, and you’re, ah, kissing me so, oh! n-nice… who are you?”

“Wally Franks, at your humble service,” he melodiously hummed, shivering. Thomas pressed against him, whispering the name. “And I think you are the most amazing kisser in all the worlds.”

“Thomas!” an Irish voice rang out. Male. They broke away sharply, the glow of their gems fading. Wally’s whip dissipated and his arms retracted. A hand banged on the door. “We need ta go, time ta lift off!”

“Fuse with me,” Wally suddenly whispered. “Together, we can take him down.”

“But he’s my superior!” Thomas hissed. He looked at Wally’s now hurt expression. He realized why he was offended. “And I’m yours… but that didn’t stop you, so it won’t stop me. Let’s do this, I guess.”

Shawn flew back as the door slammed open, crashing him into the wall. He shook it off and looked up to see the newly formed dolomite tower over him. He swore, jumping up to race to the alarm system. A weighted rope spun around his ankle moments before he could, and he tripped to a fall. He scrambled back, but the fusion reached him, tying him up and putting him against the wall.

“Thomas, can’t we talk about this?!” the tsavorite pleaded as they bound his arms tightly. “I treat you nicely, I don’t ask for much, and I even let you have that magazine subscription, even though it’s completely illegal! And you, fluorite! Your entire batch should’ve been shattered for that one twin gem, and by your cut I can see it was _your_ twin! I spared **all** of you! And... w-what exactly are you planning to do to me anyways? _Poof_ me? **Crack** me? **_Shatter_** m—”

“Shh!” Thally hushed him, putting a hand to his mouth and the sharp double tip of the whip to his gem. He stiffened as they heard footsteps. “Act normally!”

“Flynn!” they heard the amazonite thunder. “D’ya need help taking off?”

“Shit, it’s Niamh,” Shawn hissed. The fusion pressed the weapon harder. He paled. “Uh, I’m good, Thomas is helping me out.”

”Fine, but I’m sending Kim in a little ta check on ya in a little,” she warned. Shawn rolled his eyes, muttering ‘as if he’ll help’. Wally felt Thomas smirk. “And he’ll make sure everything is fan frickin tastic. Capiche?”

”Got it, yes, fine,” Shawn said, trying to edge away from the weapon. His voice wavered. “You get ready for launch though, alright?”

“As if I wasn’t!” she grunted. Her footsteps echoed in the ship, each farther and quieter then the one before, until they completely faded. Her strong voice arrived at their ears similar to a whisper. She muttered to her attendant Tiger’s Eye, “I’m going to take a nap. I do not want to be disturbed. You check on them in ten minutes.”

”Of course, My Amazonite,” Kim mumbled with a bow, avoiding looking at her directly. “I won’t forget.”

”Damn right you won’t,” Niamh assured with a wide grin. She opened the door to her room, and paused a moment outside it. Her smile faded. “You never forget anything, do you Kim?”

* * *

 

Thally sighed in relief, anxiety melting him and leaving Thomas and Wally back in their separate bodies.

“That was close.” Thomas muttered. His attention was quickly caught by Shawn struggling against the rope tying him up in order to escape. He grabbed him and lifted him with ease: he wasn’t a heavy gem at all. He turned to Wally. "What do we do with him?"

The flourite pondered a second, still steading his breath.

"Let's keep him with us.” he decided, throwing another rope to Thomas, "You never know. A higher gem can be useful."

"For what?" he asked, gagging the tsavorite. “We might as well... you know. If we’re not going to, what will we do?”

"I... I don't know.” Wally admitted, then looked over Thomas’ shoulder. “Maybe getting closer to that diamond."

Thomas gave him a confused stare.

Wally pointed out one of the screens: a purple palanquin laid not too far from the ship, tall and beautifully decorated. A dim light allowed to make out the imposing silhouette of the diamond inside of it.

"I'm gonna seduce him," the fluorite announced. “Then kidnap him.”

Both the gypsum and the tsavorite looked straight into his determined eyes, the mechanic shocked and the analyst horrified.

He was serious.

"I'd like to see you try, Wally,” Thomas challenged with a laugh. “That’s Sammy’s! He’s probably the most difficult diamond, always annoyed with a tiny detail of anything! He’ll notice something amiss instantly!”

Shawn, who had dealt with Sammy often before, simply turned to look at Thomas. Sammy might be picky, but he was blind as a bat aside from what he was irritated at. Shawn analyzed the situation.

The fluorite, Wally, apparently, had a huge chance of success. And it terrified him.

* * *

 

Wally waited for the diamond to get up and leave the palanquín, at least for a second. After ten excruciatingly long seconds, the musical diamond rose with a huff, notes humming from each step. Wally shapeshifted into the domicile through the diamond shaped lace. He crept to the seat (that was more like a throne) and began to get on it when —

“Hello,” a soft voice froze him. He whipped around to see a red coral sitting on the armrest. Her long strawberry blond hair fell over her shoulders and back, tied back with a bright red ribbon. “May I ask what you’re doing here? My diamond is not here right now. As you can see.”

“I’m here to make your diamond fall in love with me and then kidnap him,” Wally bluntly explained. She seemed surprised, but she smiled. “And you’re not going to tell him?”

“No,” she shook her head. “I’m going to help you.”

“Why?”

“My Diamond... he hasn’t been happy. I’m supposed to make him happy. And I think this will make him happy.”

“Really?” Wally grinned, raising an eyebrow. He sat on the throne leisurely. Discomfort momentarily flashed over her face, before relaxing into amusement. “I’m Wally Franks. And you are?”

“Allison Pendle,” she replied. “Red coral, x2.”

She looked up suddenly, standing gracefully, stepping outside, leaving with a wink. Wally saw her curtsy before Sammy’s imposing figure. He relaxed, heart pounding. Stupid competitive nature.

“My frickin’ head,” he groaned as he entered. Allison waited outside, closing the door quietly with a smile. Wally grinned. Unexpected allies were the best kind. He moved to sit on the back of the throne, and he extended his hands and began rubbing the diamond’s shoulder’s. He sighed, sitting down, leaning forwards, head in his hands. “Ah. That feels nice, Allison.”

“I’m sure it does,” Wally chuckled. Sammy stiffened. Wally snaked his arms around him, dexterity not deserting him as he adjusted their positions so the diamond was above him, facing him... on his lap. Color flushed over him, but Wally didn’t stop massaging his shoulders. “But guess again on the name.”

“A fluorite!” the diamond incredulously gasped. He subconsciously leaned into Wally’s touch. Wally immediately knew he had to put Sammy down to get to him. Make him feel inferior to a fluorite. “How in the worlds did you get in here... and Allison was in on this, wasn’t she?”

“Not really,” Wally hummed, eyes half closed with a lazy grin, sliding his hands up and down the diamond’s back. “She only saw me come in through the lace. Your guards didn’t even see me, or the ship I stole. I’m Wally Franks, by the by.”

“What a clever gem you are, _Wally_ ,” Sammy muttered, eyeing the large gem in Wally’s chest. He rose an eyebrow. “Hm... I haven’t seen a fluorite with a twin in a century. May I?”

“Yeah, you can _touch_ me, My **diamond** ,” Wally jeered, grinning condescendingly. Sammy blushed, faltering in his hand’s motion. He’s loosened. Wally still wasn’t prepared for the touch, though. He forced his eyelids to lower to keep up the appearance he was superior. “Hah! T-that the examination? And here I thought I was the lesser gem. You call yourself a diamond? More lik— ah! Mpfh!”

“More like hm?” Sammy asked, smirking at the flush coating Wally. He dragged his nails down the other’s gem again. “Look who’s talking now.”

“Yeah, I’m lookin’, and he’s a beaut,” Wally managed a grin, raising his knee between Sammy’s legs. The diamond found himself between Wally’s deft hands and his gorgeous body. Damnit, he’s a diamond! He’s not supposed to fall for some cheeky, clever, cute fluorite! Damnit! The fluorite’s smile faded, and it popped back, but there was now concern. “You alright there, My diamond?”

“No!” Sammy outburst, tilting his head back. “This isn’t supposed to happen! I’m not supposed to fall in love with a fluorite!”

“And I’m not supposed to be in here at all,” Wally challenged. Sammy opened his eyes slowly. Wally grinned, but softer. “What fun is life if not ta break the rules?”

“Well said,” Sammy murmured, allowing a smile to creep over his face. He began to relax, trailing his fingers over Wally’s gem, adoring the way he forced himself to seem tougher than he was. Cute. “You’re adorable.”

”Glad ta hear it,” Wally whispered, running a hand through the diamond’s purple streaked hair. “And you’re fantastic.”

“M-my diamond?” Allison’s voice, quiet but urgent broke through. “I apologize for bothering you, but you need to hurry. Quite a few quartz soldiers with Joey’s sigil are headed this way.”

“I don’t want to see them, I don’t want to talk to Joey,” Sammy whined, childlike. He turned to Wally with bright eyes. “You stole a ship, right?”

“Yes...” Wally answered slowly, suspicious of the diamond’s intent, “why?”

“Take me with you,” he begged, on his knees suddenly. Wally jolted upright, eyes wide. “Please! I-I’ll shape shift to look like one of my soldiers and we can leave!”

“You don’t allow audiences of more than one,” Wally shook his head. “It won’t work. And I wasn’t even authorized to come in, the soldiers would suspect something off. Also, when you walk, you make music. That’s a dead giveaway.”

“I have an idea,” Allison said, slipping in after a knock. “My diamond, we can poof you. No one will come in if you don’t authorize them to. Then, Wally and I can sneak out with your gem the same way he came in: through the lace.”

The diamond and the fluorite exchanged a glance. Sammy nodded.

“Alright,” he let out a breath, turning his back to Wally. “Do it.”

“Okay,” Wally summoned his whip, noticing Allison holding Sammy’s trembling hand. She motioned his eyes were closed. Wally nodded, wrapping the whip around Sammy’s neck so each hand held the opposite rope, loose enough for him to not feel it. “On the count of three. One, two!”

He tugged, Sammy’s eyes flying open for a mere moment, and then — he was gone. Allison caught the gem as it fell, and she pressed a small chaste kiss to the top. She passed him to Wally.

“You have him in the palm of your hand,” she remarked. He grinned, hiding the gem in his shirt. “Literally.”

 

* * *

 

Thomas ungraciously threw Shawn on the side as soon as he entered the control room. The tsavorite cussed loudly in response, rightfully angered at the treatment he was being given.

The engineer ignored him, looking down on the panel. He could have started the whole thing in a matter of seconds and leave before anybody found anything out.

But... then, what? Where would he go? What would they have done with Shawn? And, to be fair, why did he want to leave anyway? Sure, the society was strict and severe, but it was all he'd ever known. On a completely different planet, with completely different if not even inexisting rules, what was he going to do, to be? What would his role turn out to be?

He looked around almost disoriented in search of advice. He would have waited for Wally to come back, yes, that was the sensible thing to do. Surely, he had a plan.

Almost as if he'd been called, Wally appeared all of a sudden, running towards him in the corridor, a red coral soon entering behind him. He grinned at the surprised golden haired gem, breathless, and reached for something in his shirt.

"Guess what!" he exclaimed, finally showing his loot.

Thomas' eyes widened at the sight of the purple gem in the flourite's hands. Behind him, Shawn paled.

"You did it." the gypsum muttered, "You actually seduced and kidnapped Sammy Dialawrence, the purple diamond."

From the tied up tsavorite emerged a muffled scream of eldritch pain, supposedly chastising the lower gems for poofing a freaking diamond and not taking in account all sorts of consequences such an action could cause.

"You shoulda' seen him," Wally gloated, "I had him in the palm of my hand."

The coral giggled: "I can confirm."

"Who are you?"

"Allison Pendle. At your service."

"So, what do we do now?" Wally asked.

Thomas must had become suddenly interested in his own footwear, lowering his mortified head: "Uh, well... I... I don't know."

"What do you mean, ya don't know?"

"You're the one who came into my room like he had a plan!"

"But why wouldn't you have one when the first place you decided to go was the control room?"

"Listen, we can- oh stars... You could fake being Sammy, right?"

"No!"

"Can't you shapeshift and color change?"

"My brother color changes! I don't!"

 Suddenly, a news flash crossed the screen. There was footage of Joey being attacked by what appeared to be a spectralite. Then, it shifted to Sammy’s palaquín, which was, obviously to them, empty. The heading screamed: Diamond calamity! Forced diamond fusion and suicide/murder attempt on Joey Black Diamond! Sammy Dialawrence Missing! Joey’s attacker: Spectralite, gem on left hand, Former Spy, renegade at large. Contact the authority or superiors if found, and with any information on Sammy.

The three gems' faces lost all color. Shawn yelled in frustration.

 “Shawn?” a timid, young voice called. The three deviant gems didn’t notice, too petrified by what they had just seen. Shawn’s eyes widened, and he stamped his foot to get Thomas’ attention. It was too late anyways. The door slid open with a _shink_ , and Kim Grosso stepped in. The three ones not paying attention swiveled around, Shawn rolling his eyes. The Tiger’s Eye’s eyes widened when he saw Shawn retrained on the floor, and his jaw dropped when he noticed the purple diamond in Thomas’ hand. He turned to run away, shouting at the top of his lungs: “My amazonite! Ma’a—!”

 “Great, a hostage,” Wally said quickly, taking out his weapon. Shawn slowly turned to look at him. Apparently, he did not know that they already had one. Whom they'd kidnapped earlier. Then tied up. Finally dumped in the same room they were in. Right there on the pavement. The tsavorite stared at him. And all he wanted to do was absolutely smack his face into the concrete and then punch his own for getting captured by someone so goddamn  _stupid_.

The fluorite ignored his burning look and raging thoughts, for he did not possess the ability to read minds; his whip wrapped around the frail gem assistant, and his hand flew to his mouth, holding it so it was clamped shut. He passed him to Thomas, who pulled out his hammer, putting the prongs by Kim’s gem. His color drained. However, it was too late; they heard Niamh yell, ‘Kim!’, and Shawn smacked his head back against the wall, hoping to knock himself unconscious and avoid having to deal with this horrible nightmare any longer.

 The pavement seemed to tremble as heavy footsteps approached the room.

“Was that Kim!? KIM, THE HELL IS HAPPENING?!” the amazonite pounded on the door, seeming to forget (again) that all she needed to do was swipe her hand, effectively breaking it down. Her eyes burning in a fit of glacial rage, she pointed at the two worker gems and yelled as she took in the scene: “WHO THE SHIT ARE YOU AND YOU BEST MCFUCKING LEAVE ME TIGER'S EYE ALONE BEFORE YE GET YER ARSE POOFED!”

Allison, in all her high speed and newest tech glory, did not have a Windows XP processing like the other two, and she grabbed Sammy’s gem from Wally’s hands, leaping up and slamming it down onto the task charger’s head. She poofed instantly, much to everyone's (except Shawn’s) surprise.

“How…” Thomas articulated, staring at the amazonite crystal on the floor. “How did you do that?”

“Diamonds are the strongest mineral,” she stated as a matter-of-fact (which it is). Shawn looked at her gratefully, glad that someone else in the room wasn’t a complete idiot. “Also, the Tiger’s Eye is going to punch your face.”

As she spoke softly, Kim’s fist slammed right between Thomas’ eyes, making the engineer stumbled back. The Tiger’s Eye ran forward and scooped up Niamh’s gem, holding it close as he made a run for the exit. A rope wound around him, tugging him back in to be tightly tied and thrown beside Shawn. He passed out with a groan.

“How’d you know that would happen?” Wally asked with suspicion.

“I’m a red coral. I read people.”

“Oh.”

“Now what?”

What happened next was a lot of things happening in such rapid succession, it may as well have happened at the same time. Suddenly, while Shawn shouted  incoherent curses, the ship whirred to life startlingly, jolting Kim to life and making him clutch the amazonite tighter. A spectrolite was at the controls, gaze blankly staring at the rest of them as if they were piles of nothing, whom Thomas charged at with a shout. This was followed by Niamh reforming in Kim’s hands, her gem being placed on her bellybutton making the two end up with Kim’s hands on her hips. He burned red and never as strong before craved for death as she shifted right on his Goddamned lap, trying and failing to get up, instead only succeeding in making it look like she and the Tiger's eye were in the middle of something private. Shawn carefully summoned his weapon, a knife, inside of his mouth, finally slicing through the gag, spouting curses quietly. Thomas was trying his best to wrestle the other gem into submission in the background, failing spectacularly as the intruder kept slipping from his grasp.

“Shawn?” Nimah asked groggily, “What in the hell's happening?”

“What’s happening, she asks,” Shawn muttered in mockery, glaring at her. “What do you think is happening, Niamh?!”

“I don’t know,” she snapped, “that’s why I asked.”

“Well, we were all just kidnapped,” Shawn paused, swallowing bile as the ship rockily rose. Stars, he despised heights! “By a lovestruck engineer,” he growled at Thomas, then turned to Wally, “and a HORNY FUCKING FLUORITE!”

“He doesn’t have horns.”

“And, Sammy Dialawrence was poofed and kidnapped, too,” Shawn continued, then wobbled to his feet. “ALSO NOT WHAT HORNY MEANS!”

“Is there another ge— oh yeah, it's there,” Niamh noticed Sammy’s gem in Allison’s hands. Wally spotted Shawn getting up. He hissed an ‘oh, shiiiit,’ and Niamh put two and two together. “Wait, Sammy got kidnapped?”

“Echem, he was seduced _and_ kidnapped!” Wally smugly informed her, chasing Shawn. “Get back here!”

“Oh. Ok.” Niamh mumbled, before noticing Kim, half mortified, half passed out. “WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO HIM?”

“ARE YOU SERIOUSLY MORE WORRIED ABOUT THE TIGER'S EYE!?” Shawn roared. “UNTIE ME, NIAMH! HE’S FINE!”

“SHUT THE FUCK UP!” Niamh shouted back. She slapped Kim, knocking him out fully. “HE DONT LOOK FINE TO ME!”

“NIAMH, HELP!”

“SHUT YER TRA—”

A bright purple glow filled the room accompanied by soft music, and Sammy reformed, shaking his head to let his hair loosen. Thomas stopped fighting the spectrolite. Wally and Allison smiled, Niamh saluted, and Shawn stabbed his knife into the table from behind when no one was looking, turning around to saw off the ropes.

 The diamond looked around, rubbing his neck slightly, as though he had been damaged there, utterly lost in the quantity of gems and the location he had found himself reforming. "What... What the hell is happening in here?" he asked.

"Happy birthday! You've been kidnapped." was the instantaneous response coming from the amazonite.

"No, I- I already knew that, I meant why are you-" his eyes fell on the bicolor gem slithering away from Thomas and getting dangerously close to the control panel yet again. He responded by staring deep into the higher gem's pupils and waved, showing a round, flat gem on his left palm.

The news flashed once again with urgency, reminding everybody of Joey's assaulter. In a second, all of their eyes fell on the orange and blue figure.

"YOU!"

The spectrolite slammed his hand on the controls, and the ship fell with reckless abandon.

 “Computer, autopilot home!” Shawn shouted, plunging his hand into an odd looking glove. A giant hand materialized in the center of the room, Shawn using it with a swish of his wrist to gather all the gems in the room, rebels and loyalists together, into a tight fist. The ship wobbled upright. Shawn grabbed the spectrolite between the forefinger and thumb, holding it so tightly he could hardly breathe. He snarled; “Oh, no, you feckin’ don’t!”

 “He’s gonna report us!” Thomas panicked, voice shrill. “Please, Shawn, don’t, they’ll shatter us, no no no n—”

 “Would you _please_  shut up, Connor! I’m not reportin’ anyone!” Shawn growled. He breathed heavily for a few minutes, before exhaling slowly while pushing his green and brown hair up from his face. “How stupid are you to think that returning to the kindergarten wouldn’t attract unwanted attention?! If we go back there, even the _onxyes_  would tell something’s off! The only place a tsavorite ship should be is at the tsavorite’s home!”

* * *

The ship eased into the landing chamber. A small, young looking azurmalachite gem ran in, wrapping their short arms around Shawn as he stepped off the ship. At first he seemed surprised, but he smiled softly, patting them on the head. They beamed up at him with their one large eye.

 “What’s with the reception, Sam?” he chuckled. The little gem just hugged him tighter, pointing behind him. “The other gems...? Oh! Sammy! It’s alright, we’re all fine. No, I’m not the one who kidnapped him.”

Sam blinked, but smiled warily. He made a hand motion.

 “Aw, don’t worry ‘bout me,” Shawn hummed, hugging them back, lifting them up to carry them. “Yer pa’s alright, see? Now, let’s show our... unexpected guests to where they’ll be stayin’ here.”

 “Hold up, ‘ **pa** ’?!” Thomas nearly shouted. “You’re a dad?!”

 “Not in a human sense of biology, since that doesn’t exist here,” Shawn growled back, walking away. Sam stuck their tongue out at Thomas. “But yes. Sam is my child. So don’t you dare hurt him, or there’ll be shards to pay.”

 “He or they?” Wally asked, catching up. “Or both?”

 “Both,” Sam said softly, voice sounding like a processed synth. “Today, they.”

 “Cool,” Sammy grinned. The little gem’s eyes widened in admiration and surprise. “What? Complimented by a diamond?”

 They nodded energetically, but yawned, ears tilting back. Shawn chuckled. He led everyone upstairs, depositing Sam on their bed with the promise to tuck him in after he got their guests in their respective rooms. He exhaled as he closed the door to the azurmalachite’s room, looking over the misfit crowd.

 “Who’s staying in the same room with who?” he asked bluntly. Sammy and Thomas edged next to Wally. Kim shifted near Niamh, but stepped back with a blush. Shawn cocked an eyebrow. Allison shrugged. The spectrolite was nowhere to be found. “Alright, you three polyamorous lovebirds are in this room, Niamh, you’re here, Kim and Allison, yer both in this one. Any questions?”

 “Nope,” Thomas shrugged. All the rest responded in kind. “I think we’re all good.”

 “Ya best feckin’ be, ‘cause I ain’t ‘elping any af ya,” he grumbled, slipping into Sam’s room. A whispered conversation took place, of which one could barely catch Shawn murmur; “Hopefully just a couple’a days.”

 “Goodnight, My diamond,” Allison murmured. He yawned, giving her a thumbs up. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

 “Yeah,” he replied, then turned to enter his own room, before looking back at Thomas and Wally. “Do you think that... you guys can sleep around me? I know it’s not really rational, bu—”

 “Don’t worry about it,” Thomas assured him, reminded of the awol spectrolite. “Someone needs to sleep in the middle anyways, right?”

 “Not really,” Wally replied with a grin and a wink. “There’s always another option beside sleeping.”

“OK GOODNIGHT,” Kim almost yelled to cut him off, red as a beet as he gently shoved Allison with him into their shared room. “SEE YOU TOMORROW. SLEEP WELL MY AMAZONITE.”

“YOU TOO!" Niamh replied. "Wonder what got ‘is panties in a bunch,” she then commented after the room was sealed by the sliding door. Thomas held in a laugh, Wally snorted, and Sammy forced a smile back. She knit her brows in a confused look.

“Welp, I best be gettin’ some shut eye, not like we need ta or anyt’ing, but ‘cause I can.” she finally shrugged, heading off to a good snooze.

As Wally laid on the most comfortable surface he’d ever been on, he had an awful feeling he was forgetting something, something important. He shrugged, pushing it away as he snuggled into the already snoring Sammy. One of Thomas’ hands took his own, holding it above Sammy’s nonexistent but still beating heart. Soon he was sleeping as well. Just as Wally was about to doze off, he shot up, tumbling off the bed.

 “What’s wrong?” Thomas inquired, concerned.

 “Are you alright?” Sammy asked in a murmur.

 “I’m fine,” he whispered, forcing a grin. “Just forgot about my **twin**.”


	3. Sammy DiaLawrence, Purple Diamond, Turncoat (who fell in love with a Fluorite [and a Gypsum])

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fusions of the same gender can be referred to as either "he/she/ze" or "they" (rarely "it", and that only by themselves. If someone else calls them "it", it is considered a breach of conduct).

Wally woke up awaited by horrible news, which was not completely unexpected.

 

The other diamonds had bombed the planet of lavender he had been formed on. Nuked it. His eyes trailed on the shards floating peacefully in the space where the colossal purple planet had been as the image appeared on the monitors. The planet his brother was... had been still on. Gone.

 

Wally was devastated by the loss. Sammy and Thomas attempted to cheer him up, and formulated a plan that was cut off by Shawn’s plan to not get them caught and killed.

 

* * *

 

Kim  _blazed_ as he waited on Niamh. A multitude of other gems surrounded him, complimenting him and attempting to enamour the gorgeous man. As he sat on his bar stool and tried his best to ignore them while burning red, he silently begged for his boss to return as soon as possible. Gems leaned around him with grins and cash, trying to coax him to be with one or another for a night. Tiger's Eyes were widely known to be wonderful gemstones, but Kim especially was an exceptional example of his kind's unmatched beauty. A real cute twink, one called him. The others agreed.

 

He wished with all of his might for Niamh to come and smash that particular gem into oblivion.

 

Finally, as if the sky had opened and all possible pantheons of benevolent gods had lent their hands towards him answering his prayers, an angered voice rose from behind the lusting cluster: "Goddamn _move outta the way_ , will ya? I need t' get t' that guy!"

 

"Wait for your turn, Amazonite," a tall, broad-shouldered Emerald growled, glancing down at the lower-ranked woman for a second before trying to push through the crowd and get his arm around Kim's shoulders.

 

Niamh snorted in rage and delight of the challenge. So that's how these punks were gonna play it, huh? She materialized her gauntlet from her gem and responded by crashing a fist into the Emerald, poofing them instantly. The Agate just beside her got the same treatment, as well as three other unfortunate souls who weren't quick enough to jump away. The rest of the spectators immediately caught on what was going on and how they were going to end up if they had stayed in their places a second more. They scattered to the rest of the room, rightfully terrified, until the only one who hadn't caught the drift was a Nephrite who was desperately tring to get Kim's attention by smearing themselves all over him.

 

Luckily, it just took a look at Niamh's murderous glare for them to run away.

 

"Look what the fock's a gal gotta do t' get t' her own feckin' Tiger's Eye..." she puffed before looking at her assistant: "How are ye?"

 

"Thankful." he replied with a whisper, deflating in relief.

 

Niamh patted his back with a smile. "Yer welcome."

 

Taking a seat beside him, she allowed her gaze to lazily wander over the dance floor. 

 

"Good stars, look at Drew." she grimaced, "He looks like someone taped a bunch of sticks in the vague form of a person and called it a day."

 

"Ma'am, please, quietly!"

 

"Seriously, he's so stiff, he can't bend his focken' knees! Those are  _supposed_ t' bend! And don't worry, the band's too loud."

 

"Still, I'm begging you, don't say those kind of things out loud."

 

Niamh huffed quietly. He was right, but still. A thought came to her.

 

"Hey, Kim. Can I ask y' something?"

 

The other nodded absent-mindedly.

 

"What does 'horny' mean?"

 

Kim choked on the drink he was sipping.

 

"Where the _hell_ have you been?!" Joey hissed beneath the noise of the band. He spun Sammy, throwing him into a dip. "We organised search parties, sent transmission beams, even scavenged around gem shard recycle stations!"

 

"I can manage myself, _my diamond_ ," he growled back, in the same condescending tone Wally had used on him. Speaking of which, Shawn’s plan was to have Sammy be 'rescued' by the fusion of Thomas and Wally, Thally appearing as a hero in the eyes of gems. There had been a banquet thrown in honor of Sammy's return. The real goal was to give Allison her chance to speak to Henry's pearl, Susie (and get Wally’s mind off of things). Joey yanked Sammy forward, snapping him out of his thoughts, studying him. "What? Stop mothering me!"

 

"What's the real deal, Samuel," he demanded, waltzing down the ballroom with him. Sammy felt Thally's eyes on him like lasers. "This clearly was no kidnapping, either you went willingly or you were in some sort of trance."

 

"Tch, I was choked out, and Allison was coerced," Sammy retorted, slinging Joey away and raveling him back. "You yourself were very nearly killed by a spectrolite! On the same day, no less! I wouldn't be surprised if it was an organised attack."

 

"Is it possible that only one of Thally's gems are your savior?" Joey cross questioned, "Maybe only the Gypsum? After all, we are aware that a fluorite orchestrated your... kidnapping."

 

"Think what you want," Sammy shot back, dumping him on the dance floor. He spared a glance back at the stunned and outraged Joey. "I think he's... rather dashing."

 

"He wouldn't," Joey muttered under his breath, fuming. He watched as Sammy made his way over to the fusion, eye twitching as they took his hand, kissing it. He said something, making Sammy laugh, mirth spreading through the air like music. They took to the dance floor. Un. Accept. Able. Joey slammed his cup on the counter. "Dammit! What the Hell has gotten into DiaLawrence!? First he's 'kidnapped' and now he's taken a fancy to a damn dolomite!"

 

"Sir, you really shouldn't be getting too upset over this," Henry Sepia commented. Joey studied the other diamond. Henry seemed to be more frail than the other three, but he easily outclassed Sammy, the only diamond giving him a run for his money being Joey. He noticed Joey's scathing examination, and turned to focus on the dance floor, lips pursed and eyebrows knitting ever so slightly. Susie glanced at him, frowning due to the fact she could do nothing to assist her diamond. Joey's Iris Agate (which he selected instead of a pearl or red corral), Jack Fain, made eye contact with her. He looked up at Joey, biting his lip. Whatever his diamond was planning was Not Good™. He let Susie know this by rapidly sending the 'cut' signal. She grimaced, examining Henry. He was unsuspecting and relaxed. That would only be problematic for himself, easing the path for the more powerful Diamond. She made a movement to tug on his sleeve, but she was too late. Joey rested his hand on Henry's arm. He glanced at the spot before returning his gaze to the waltz. "Yes, My Diamond?"

 

"Oh, it's nothing really," Joey put on his most charming aura. Everyone in the vicinity calmed, relaxed as well as inveigled by his charisma. "It's just..." he walked his fingers up Henry's arm, the sepia toned diamond's eyes fluttering to be in a dreamy haze, even Susie swooning, Jack resisting the urge. Joey sighed morosely, and you'd've believed him to be the most heartrended soul, his distress emitting onto the others. He tilted his head, giving Henry the most persuasive puppy eyes he could muster. And guess what? The sucker melted for it. Joey had to stymie a victorious smirk. "I need an itty bitty little favor. And... I might have a small something as a compensation."

 

"And that is?" Henry prompted - unnecessarily, he would do it with or without his own volition - raising an eyebrow. Joey sweetly smiled. Fatal. Henry liquefied as the black diamond trailed a hand up the side of his neck, index finger and thumb tugging his chin forwards. He glimmed at him with a torpid smile and half lidded eyes, then shook his head, backing off with a blazing golden blush. "Ah. R-right." He swallowed harshly, Joey still gazing at him with the slightest hint of lust. "Of course, My... My d-diamond."

 

Joey smiled, aura fading as Henry stumbled away.

He knew what he needed to do. Joey's empathy powers did not just convey emotion, but direction as well.

 

He approached Sammy, tapping his shoulder to gain his attention. Sammy, as Henry's inferior, was obligated to join him. Thally, having gone back to the sidelines for a mere moment, was now regretting that decision. Henry grinned at Sammy's sour expression, spinning him round. When he slowed, Sammy allowed a small smile on his face as well.

 

"Why, Henry, are you... dancing with me?" he bantered to his shorter friend, he nodding. "I used to think you had two left feet, yet you prove me wrong!"

 

"Pardon me for butting in," Thally alluringly said, with the lightest agitation, hip bumping Henry out of the way. "If you're dancing with a gem of such stature, in both senses, you should be tall enough to do this!"

 

He dipped Sammy as they spoke, the purple diamond flushing a bright lilac, the sepia one pursing his lips. He extended his legs, grinning over Thally. Sammy chuckled at their offended face as he took Henry's hand, twirling away with a wink. The Thomas inside sparked, and the power flashed out. Wally, ever the flair for the dramatic, reset the lighting as a spotlight, summoning from their shoulder gem a single red rose, gracefully passing it in front of his chest before sliding it between his teeth with a lick. Henry felt Sammy tighten his grip, swallowing roughly. The fusion slid over to them, taking Henry, waltzing briefly with him.

 

"Seems like your plan backfired," Jack brightly commented. Joey glared at him, clenching a fist. "Ookay. Shutting up now."

 

"The waltz may be the dance of romance," Thally explained, spinning away back to Sammy, cupping his cheek and smiling down at him. "But the tango is the dance of... passion. And twirl! And leg straight, put your hand here, like this, and of course, no tango is complete without a dip!"

 

Sammy grinned up at them, bright violaceous. Thally's grin vanished, the rose dropping, the fusion suddenly become unstable and defusing. Thomas and Sammy looked at each other, then at Wally. He knew why Thomas defused. He wanted Wally all to himself. And by the look in Sammy's eye, the diamond had the same thought process.

 

"H-hold up, guys," he stuttered, feeling their hands on his body. "We're supposed to be equal, n-not fighting over any of us."

 

The two ignored him, each dancing with him in turn so rapidly that he felt sick to his stomach. Power cut again. The two others looked to Thomas. Even he was startled. And suddenly, Wally was gone. He dizzily shook his head to clear it, his eyes confusedly picking clue after clue taht he was in a small room above the one he'd just been dancing in. A Flourite wearing a fantabulous lace dress and looking almost identical to him pressed two fingers to his lips.

 

"Sorry," Willy whispered, grinning sheepishly at his brother. "You looked like ya could use a break, those two were ready to tear off each other's heads fer ya."

 

"Oh, thanks-- You're alive!" Wally gasped, eyes widening. "I thought you were shattered with the rest of them!"

 

"Well, you were wrong," his twin gem cheerfully remarked. "As you can see, I am very whole. However, I was very close to not being whole at all. I escaped the bombing ten seconds before it happened."

 

"How?!"

 

"You seem ta forget, brotha," Willy flicked in and out of existence, then grinned. "I can turn invisible. So I did, and then poofed myself. New outfit, see?"

 

“Why do you smell like that?”

 

“What?”

 

“I think it’s… lavender?”

 

“Probably infused in me from the heat of the bombs.”

 

“Nice dress, by the way,” Wally commented on the lavender lace. Willy smiled, gem pulsing his pleasure at the compliment. “It suits you. What’s your plan?”

 

“Dancing,” Willy replied, jumping down through a small trap door with a spin, landing gracefully in the hall below. All eyes turned on him. He strode over to Joey, bowing respectfully, the Diamond's empath powers not affecting him in the slightest, even as others edged away nervously both from Joey and the Flourite. Something was... off about him. Allison, who earlier was whispering to Susie about rebellion, narrowed her eyes. She could not read this gem's thoughts. Susie gripped Allison's arm, unable to see his emotions.

 

“My Diamond, Joey Drew, are the rumors true?" the gem who'd just appeared asked with an endearing smile, "That you have powers beyond our comprehension? I for one, find that entirely possible, especially now that I see you and your fantastical awe in person. However, is it possible that a defect such as myself contains a similar amount of strength to that of your majesty’s?”

 

It was hard to tell if he was being insulting or flattering.

 

“Who are you?” Joey demanded, standing and scrutinizing the new gem. Willy flashed a grin, inclining his head with a tilt. “State your name, gem, and purpose!”

 

“I am Willy Franks, _twin_ fluorite, and without a purpose or care in the world,” he easily responded, extending a hand smoothly, despite the outbursts in the room. A twin gem! They were all removed! Shattered! Exiled! “Now, may I have this dance?”

 

"I... refuse," Joey admitted after a moment. Then reversed time and corrected himself. "Of course."

 

"Of course he says," Willy humorously chuckled quietly as the diamond took his hand. "Not 'I refuse'? Time altering powers, interesting."

 

"How the hell were you formed!?" Joey demanded, then composed himself. After all, one must bear in mind that Twin Gems were destroyed for a reason. They did not abide by the physics and chemistry of true gems.

Joey sighed. Willy studied him. They realized that they both wanted to learn from the other their ticks and tricks. The Diamond grit his teeth. The Fluorite narrowed his eyes. In fact, they both were so intent about figuring the other out, neither noticed the glow from their gems as their physical forms began to merge, starting with their barely grazing hands. They processed this simultaneously, both leaping away from the other.

"I think I'm all 'funned out', heh." Joey laughed nervously.

 

"YeAH," Willy agreed, mortified and scared by the idea of fusing with  _him_ of all people. "LET'S JUST. FORGET THAT EVER HAPPENED."

 

And then he leapt up and vanished.

 

Chaos broke out. Everyone was looking around for the defiant worker, confused and intrigued by his sudden disappearance. Some gems ended up getting trampled and poofed, resulting in even more disorder, and small fights burst into action, causing a massive brawl. The three present diamonds were doing their best to calm the people assembled, and were not having much luck in the endeavour.

 

Thomas scuttled quietly back to the bar, eyes feverishly looking all over for a particular pair. As he finally spotted the Amazonite and Tiger's Eye he was searching for, he rapidly got to their side.

 

"Have you seen Wally?" he whispered, worried.

 

Niamh turned to face him completely before grimacing.

 

"He's disgusting." she replied, disdain in her eye.

 

The look the Gypsum reserved her screamed if she was out of her mind.

 

"I had to tell her what 'horny' means." Kim clarified, flushed and embarrassed. "It was... not pleasant."

 

"Why do you even feel that?" the woman continued in a surprisingly genuine confused tone, "How is it possible for someone to just go and say to themselves 'Holy shit I seriously want to take that guy and focken' shove meself up his arse hard enough for neither of us to walk the next morning'?"

 

Thomas felt his cheeks explode bright red. His index finger flew to his mouth to silence her, although to no avail.

 

Kim hid his face in his own hands, a single eye peeking to see just how flushed could the other man get as Niamh kept asking questions not quite fit to be asked in public without a single care for the world around her, curiosity too strong to be contained. Thomas tried his best to answer her questions as quickly and curtly as possible. The Tiger's Eye began rolling over his eyeballs when something so well hidden he had almost missed it caused him to freeze.

 

He grabbed Niamh's elbow as discretely yet firmly as he could, redirecting her attention to him.

 

"What?" she asked, Thomas sighing in relief.

 

Without a single word, her assistant pointed to the darkened wall. A quick trail of golden light coming from the gem on his forehead highlighted a speck of it for just a split few seconds, but it was enough: limbs of a skinny body crawled away from the brightened spot, betraying their owner's presence.

 

The Amazonite's eyes widened in disbelief. The rogue spy.

 

"Feckin' slithery bastard-shaped piece of feldspar..." she hissed. She lowered her head until her lips were close enough to kiss Kim's ear, breathing a soft: "Think y' can deal with that?"

 

Kim nodded, immediately taking off in concern of both the implications of his accidental discovery and the dark hue growing all over his face being discovered.

 

"Hey, hey, where's he going now?" Thomas asked, trying to follow him.

 

"The damn Spectrolite we know and don't love who wants to stab the shit out of Joey is here and likely ready to fuck all of this shit up." Niamh replied, holding him in place. Thomas studied her, tilting his head with an 'and?' expression. She huffed. "We gotta make sure the big idiot doesn't die or some shite."

 

The Gypsum gulped.

 

Right. That renegade was more than able to get through every nook and cranny and move faster than all of them combined. If it did manage to get out there in the open, it would have been a massacre.

 

"We need to find Wally, immediately." he whispered.

 

"Why's that?"

 

"Listen, let's be real. We ourselves are some tough rocks and by the whole galaxy do we know that. But the lightweight you just sent after that wild thing has no chance of making it back alive-"

 

"You take that back!"

 

"-IT'S A SPY, it was made to kill swiftly, and your friend _wasn't_. So when- or if- he fails, we'll have to be ready to get that loose cannon out of the game, and a fusion and an angry Amazonite will survive way better than two strong but vulnerable gems."

 

Niamh took a moment to ponder.

 

"If he touches me I deck him." she concluded.

 

Then she grabbed Thomas with brute strength and dragged him away to find the damn Fluorite.

 

Kim slipped through the crowd, everyone too focused on attacking each other to notice him. The only exception, sadly enough, was the Emerald that had been oogling him at the bar. His eyes narrowed as he spotted the beautiful gem dashing away in a hurry, and he jumped up to hover over the crowd, tracking the Tiger's Eye, waiting for an opportune moment to spirit him away. He waited and waited, until Kim managed to fall out of the multitude of gems, stumbling a bit, and emerged near a corner. Perfect.

 

The ship captain swooped down, shoving the unsuspecting assistant gem into the corner. Kim felt the air rush from his lungs, a hand on his throat, a throwing knife pressed to his stomach. He froze in fear.

 

"Not a peep," the Emerald threatened with a smirk slowly spreading across his lips, jabbing him roughly in the stomach and running the blade downward. Kim paled. "Or else..."

 

A knife-like weapon drove down from behind Kim, slicing the high-ranked gem's forehead in half and poofing him. Kim swiftly spun away from the corner to see the gem he was backed into. The Spectrolite looked down at him.

 

He suddenly felt infinitely small compared to the looming figure. He hadn't expected him to be so tall. The softest trail of golden light went to take the shadows away from the spy's face, and there Kim noticed: there was nothing. Not a single feature - nose, mouth, brows, ears - was present. Just two big, mismatched orange and blue eyes and a million dots, some bigger, some smaller, scattered all over the empty space.

 

He stared at the Tiger's Eye without breathing nor blinking. He didn't even seem to have eyelids.

 

"Um. Hi." Kim swallowed back his sheer terror. "I know that you want to, uh, hurt and or, possibly kill, Joey Drew? And, I don't think that's the best idea."

 

The spy's hand glowed softly as he threateningly materialized a letter-opener.

 

The Tiger's Eye, however, decided he was having none of it: "You stop that." he ordered, pointing at the weapon. Seeing a horrifying massacre creature docily put down the sharp contundent object it was ready to murder him with just because he told it in a slightly imposing tone not to do that felt hilariously out of place for Kim.

 

He took a deep breath: "Listen. You want to kill Joey."

 

The other nodded.

 

"You already tried, and that failed. Now, you have a chance."

 

Something deep into the glassy bicolored irises gleamed in an uncomfortable way, similar to a barely contained bloodlust.

 

"But you were alone with him then. Look around." the more logical gem extended his arm slightly to direct the attention to the general panic around them, "How can you escape _this_? I know you're fast, but how are you going to get out of here if this time you fail again without wasting precious time taking out onyxes and high-ranked gems who will either put up a fight or block your way aimlessly yelling at you to stop if you try to reach their general direction?"

 

Tilting his head as if to ask what the problem was supposed to be, the Spectrolite lazily kicked the poofed Emerald.

 

"If you fail," Kim raised his voice, "No matter how far you run, you'll be caught for sure and Joey will have you for his own enjoyment. And he'll force you down to the ground to humiliate you, and shatter you under his foot with a single stomp, so that everyone can see just how much of a minor inconvenience you've always been to him. That you were never a threat to begin with."

 

The other made a sharp inhale despite his absent nose, furious, and all of his hunched figure shivered as if about to fall apart would allow a blue and orange demon break out of it in all of its deadly glory to scream how dangerous he was.

 

"Yes, you are." Kim agreed, placing a hand on the heterochrome gem's skinny arm. "But now is not the time to show that."

 

"Hm..."

 

"You promise? You won't do that?"

 

The Spectrolite gave a slow nod, bony finger tracing a small cross where the heart should have been.

 

Kim sighed in relief: "Oh, thank goodness..." he blessed under his breath. Being as polite a man as he was, however, he noticed with horror he had absolutely no idea whom he was talking to. "A-and, uh... Your, name is?" he stuttered, immensely embarrassed.

 

The other gem didn't flinch. His face simply began splitting and tearing apart a couple centimeters above the chin, cutting its fiber in a long, thin line that allowed two pieces of flesh to move like lips.

 

" ** _Eska_**." a horribly raspy, crackling voice answered. Then the improvised mouth glued itself back together as soon as the last vocal died in the air, leaving no trace of the disturbing transformation that had just taken place.

 

Kim felt like fifteen years of his holographic life had just left him.

 

"Please never do that again." he murmured, terrified.

 

Eska gave him a thumbs up.

 

 Wally barely believed his eyes when a fist broke a hole in the pavement he was sitting on only five inches away from the trapdoor. The fact that Thomas was thrown through said hole with enough strength to make him hit the wall (and he hit it _hard_ , considering the pained grunt he made) almost convinced him he must had eaten some weird stuff before his brother whisked him away.

 

The Gypsum groaned and finally managed to get his lover in his line of sight: "Wally!" he exclaimed, voice overflowing with relief. "How did you get here?"

 

"Well, my brother-" the Fluorite tried to start, but a plump figure violently emerged through the crack on the floor up to her bust, interrupting him with a: "Oh, he's here? Good, didn't want t' break the whole damn ceiling."

 

The Fluorite looked back and forth between the two of them, confused: "What happened? Why were you looking for me?"

 

"Ok, see- Wait." Thomas began. However, his eye caught a glimpse at the small hole close to his beloved. A fit of rage took control of him and, pointing to the now painfully visible entry, he turned to Niamh as she raised herself from the hole: "There was a trapdoor! You didn't have to punch the ceiling and fling me in!"

 

"Did y' see that before?"

 

"No, but--"

 

"Then shut up."

 

She then focused on Wally: "Listen, the Spectrolite from yesterday's around here wanting to stab the shit outta more or less everybody, probably. We'll need yer feckin' fusion, Thally I think it's called, t' keep it at bay. Okay? Also up until five minutes ago a guy who looked just like ye was down there dancin' with Joey f'r a little, I think."

 

"That's my brother!" the Flourite burst, grabbing her arm. "Wh--"

 

A sucker punch sent him flying unconscious to the floor.

 

Thomas tugged his own hair with his hands: "Why did you do that?!"

 

"He touched me, I decked him. I told ye I would've done that." she answered, ungracefully pushing Wally down the trap door.

 

The Gypsum fumed, anger barely contained. She had some nerve, treating him like a bag of potatoes to discard in the garbage!

 

"Have you ever tried being a little gentler?!"

 

The woman stared at him right in the eyes before unceremoniously shoving him down as well, making him splatter right onto the previously thrown, in pain and currently awake gem. Then, she let herself fall on top of them, crushing both in the stomach. Wally breathed a whimper, feeling on the verge of poofing. She glared down at them as if they were nothing but dirt.

 

"No." Niamh replied.

 

And so she stepped off, the other two regaining at once their ability to breathe.

 

 Thomas felt a pressure on his mouth, as did Wally, but when he looked down to his mouth, there was nothing there. A "SHH!" was hissed between them.

 

"Let the Spectrolite poof two gems," Willy's voice murmured, then the pressure left, and he disappeared once more. "Also, brother, stay out of the UV lights!"

 

"Your brother is..." Thomas whispered, trying to find an adjective that would properly describe him, "different."

 

"Than what?" Wally asked, confused. His brother was basically the same as him, but with a slightly altered personality. "From, me, yeah."

 

"No, he's like... off? Not in a bad way, just... weirdish?" Thomas sighed from the piercing look Wally sent him. "Nevermind. Sorry about getting jealous again."

 

"Me too," Sammy grunted, joining them. "Wally's right. We are equal in this."

 

"How about equally fighting our way outta this?" Wally questioned, grinning as he summoned his rope. Thomas grinned as well, hammer materializing in his hand, and a banjo appearing in Sammy's, gems flying back from the sound waves when he strummed it. "Nice! Let's do this!"


End file.
